CAPRICCI:“In the 18th century, the Venetian artist Canaletto enchanted his patrons with ‘capricci’ (deriving from the Italian for ‘the leaping of a goat’): fanciful scenes of impossible architecture which melded the real with the imagined. He would take well known landmarks and experiment with perspective and form to create vistas of the imagination.Desmet’s compositions do the same, as she relishes the freedom of not needing to transcribe exact architectural details, and instead creates poetic renderings with an echo of truth.”– Extract from catalogue essay by Jennifer Scott, Sackler Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, for Desmet’s 2018 solo exhibition at Long & Ryle Gallery, London.